Blind Observation
by Hillsy21
Summary: Alvin's life changed forever after a gas heater explosion. Though he temporarily couldn't see a thing, his life became a little more clearer as he got to experience the world in a whole new way.  Through the good times and bad times, here's his story.
1. Chapter 1

**A****uthors Note: I know that I've already posted and reposted my story, but now that I've become a better writer over the past year, I just want to give it another go, just to make it more accurate and interesting.**

**Some chapters will be different, but a majority will stay the same. I hope this won't annoy you too much, but I just thought there was a few things that really needed to be redone.**

**Blind Observation**

**Part One: The Accident.**

The audience roared as America's two most famous bands finished their last song together in triumph. The Chipmunks and Chipettes had just set a new world record for the longest concert ever held without a break, 7 days long.

The two lead singers, Alvin Seville and Brittany Miller, proudly bowed, followed by their brothers and sisters. All six chipmunks were on the verge of collapse, absolutely exhausted by their effort for charity to the Red Cross. With a huge grin, their manager and father figure, Dave Seville, walked on from side stage and picked each of them up one by one. All six chipmunks slumped in his arms.

"Thank you and goodnight!" Dave called to the audience, "And have a safe drive home!"

Dave walked off stage as the stage hands came on to pack away the instruments and equipment. Fans were waiting for their idols as he exited with them through the back stage door. Luckily, the car wasn't too far away and within a few moments of harassment, Dave managed to open the door and slide in, dropping the chipmunks gently on the passenger seat.

"We'll be home in an hour, kids," Dave said reassuringly, but they weren't listening. All six of them were asleep. Dave smiled at his charges as he backed out of the car park and drove onto the highway.

0000oooo0000

Just like Dave had promised, an hour later they were finally home. Dave reluctantly shook them awake and they all trudged into the house for dinner. Nobody was willing to cook, so Chinese food was on the menu for the night. Theodore and Eleanor would usually scoff their food down like hungry wolf, but tonight they just slowly chewed away at their rice like everybody else.

"I am so proud of all of you," Dave told them after dinner, "When you told me you were going to set this world record, I thought the whole lot of you were absolutely nuts. But you made the commitment and you stuck it through to the end. Congratulations."

"Thanks Dave," they croaked in unison. Everybody's voices were just about to give in and surrender. The living room was uncharacteristically quiet. All of them seemed to be drifting in and out of focus, lying against each other on the couch, just waiting for sleep to take over. If one chipmunk yawned, the rest of them followed like a Mexican wave or a game of Chinese Whispers. Dave noticed this and chuckled quietly to himself.

"Man, Idon't think I've ever been so tired before," groaned Simon, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes," Off to bed I think." And with that, he with Jeanette slumped off to bed.

"Good night you two," said Dave.

"Good night Dave," the bespectacled chipmunks replied in unison. Theodore and Eleanor weren't far behind them, leaving Brittany, Alvin and Dave still in the living room.

"Alvin..." mumbled Dave, lying back on his recliner, eyes closed."It's cold in here, turn the heater on won't you?"

"Make Brittany do it..." groaned Alvin in response.

"Brittany, turn the heater on."

"Make Alvin do it, Dave," said Brittany with yet another yawn.

"Alvin turn the heater on."

"Brittany, tell Dave to do it."

"Dave, turn the heater on!"

"No! You do it if you're that cold!"

"Fine, _I'll_ do it!"

"Thanks Alvin, you're a legend!"

"Yeah, whatever!" grumbled Alvin as he hauled himself over to the heater. _Why can't Dave turn the heater on? Why can't Brittany turn the heater on? They've both got legs and hands. But no. Always has to be Alvin! Alvin this and Alvin that! Alvin, Alvin, Alvin, ALVIN!_

He found the red switch and flicked it on-

_BOOM!_

With a huge blow to his 8 inch body, Alvin was thrown back into a cabinet, smashing into several photo frames. He hit the back of it with a sickening thud. His eyes watered and seared, and the glass from the frames cut into his legs and back. He tried to sit up, but collapsed again as he started yelling in total agony. For him, this was a totally new experience in pain.

"Alvin!" screamed Brittany. Now wide awake she bounded over to her counterpart and turned him onto his stomach. Wanting to help, she slid his sweater off his limp body and attempted to remove the several shards of glass stuck in his back. Jeanette and Eleanor all rushed over to assist her, leaving Simon and Theodore to console their injured brother. Dave was nowhere to be seen.

"Alvin...just calm down," said Simon in a soft tone, attempting to hold Alvin still so he'd stop thrashing around.

"I can't!"

"It's gonna be alright!" cried Theodore, who was nearly in tears from seeing his eldest brother in such distress.

"No it's not! My eyes! I can't open them!"

Suddenly, Dave came galloping out from the laundry, carrying a blanket. He ran over to the cabinet and wrapped it around Alvin's body. He gently lifted Alvin up and cradled him close to his chest. He looked back to the others and said, "I'll take him to the vet clinic a couple of blocks away. Just go to bed and try to get some sleep for now. If anything happens I'll call you."

Clutching onto his son in his arms tightly, Dave sprinted to his car and wrenched open the door. Once inside, he laid Alvin down on the passenger seat and wrapped the seat belt securely around him. Alvin whimpered helplessly for the whole drive.

He blasted through the front doors to the clinic, looking quite the maniac as he yelled "Help! Please, there's been a gas explosion!"

One of the assistants quickly led him to a room. "Just wait here and stay calm. The vet well be with you in a moment." She said calmly before closing the door behind her. Dave took a deep breath before sitting in a seat against the wall. Alvin whimpered in Dave arms and started sobbing heavily. He was crying more out of fear then pain.

Dave looked down and moved the opening of the blanket, revealing his son. All of the fur on Alvin's face had been badly singed and his eyes were shut tight, hiding the damage. Down his back were a few deep cuts, bleeding away. His whole body was shaking hard as he choked on his sobs. Dave tried to console him by gently rubbing behind his ear.

"Shh, Alvin. It's going to be okay," Dave soothed. Alvin buried his head into Dave's chest so his crying became muffled. Dave shifted his seat a little, causing Alvin to yelp as it jolted his ribcage.

The Vet walked into the room. He gently took Alvin from Dave's arms and laid him on the cushioned table nearby. "I see you've managed to remember everything I taught you during college Dave. I'm impressed." He said smugly, looking over at Dave with a knowing grin. Dave stared at the Vet in confusion. _How does he know my name?...Wait a minute, I know that grin! Could it be-?_

"Chris! Is that you?" cried Dave.

"Yep, it's me. So this is Alvin, correct?" questioned Chris. Dave nodded. Chris unwrapped and removed the blanket from the chipmunks body. The cold air stung on Alvin's burnt face and cuts, he let out another whimper between sobs. Dave gazed worriedly at Alvin's reaction, but resisted his urge to hug him again.

Alvin winced as Chris turned him onto his stomach. "Please, make it stop!"he pleaded

"Alright, just relax," Chris said in a soothing voice. He placed a small mask over Alvin's burnt face and turned on the anaesthesia."Take slow, deep breaths and in your mind count to 10."

_1...2.. _Alvin began to feel drowsy_.3...4...5.. _His body was going completely numb_..6...7...8.. _he was losing consciousness_...9..10._

"He's under." Announced Chris. Dave sighed as the assistant from earlier came back into the room. "Dave, I'm sorry, but I need you to wait outside now. I promise will do everything we can for him."

Dave went outside into the waiting room, immediately feeling worried. He sat in another chair and attempted to read an old edition of National Geographic. But his mind kept wandering back to thinking about his son. _Alvin hadn't been able to open his eyes...what was wrong with them?...Was he going to be ok?...Will he be able to see again?_


	2. He'll Be Fine

"He'll Be Fine...I Hope."

_Dave went outside into the waiting room, immediately feeling worried. He sat in another chair and attempted to read an old edition of National Geographic. But his mind kept wandering back to thinking about his son. Alvin hadn't been able to open his eyes...what was wrong with them? Was he going to be ok?...Will he be able to see again?...Or will he blind forever?_

These thoughts raced over and over in Dave's mind as he sat in that lonely waiting room. He threw the magazine back on the table next to him. With enormous difficulty, he allowed drowsiness to overcome him and he drifted off into a troubled sleep, waking up every few minutes at the sound of a door opening. The waiting in suspense was killing him.

What was that racket? Another Vet, came stumbling past Dave, dragging a huge, vicious Bull Terrier. It was putting up a damn good fight, growling and snapping, trying to dig it's claws into the laminated floor. Two more assistants came running and helped pull the Terrier into a room at the end of the hallway. The door closed, a few minutes later, the growling turned into a deadly howl, then a whimper and then...silence.

That sudden silence sent a chill down Dave's spine as he realised what had just happened. Ten minutes later, the Vet opened the door, carrying a black bag with what Dave knew was the Terrier inside. One of the assistants helping the Vet had tears in her eyes as she closed the door behind her. She looked up at Dave as she walked by him and whispered, "There was nothing else we could do for her. That is what happens to dogs who are trained to fight for their lives."

"No animal deserves that kind of life do they?" asked Dave softly. The assistant shook her head and kept going, crying silently as she walked.

A half an hour later, Chris came out of the room in front of Dave, holding Alvin rewrapped in the blanket. Dave immediately stood up and gently took the sleeping chipmunk in his arms. He could see already that Alvin had a bandage wrapped around his eyes. The singed fur on his face had been shaved off so new fur could grow in its place, leaving patches of pink here and there.

"Not very pretty is it?" began Chris, watching his old friend. "Luckily the cuts in his back and on both his legs, didn't need any stitches. He's also managed to fracture a couple of his ribs, but they'll heal soon enough. But I can't say the same for his eyes." Dave looked up into Chris's solemn eyes, hoping he wouldn't hear what he didn't want to hear.

"I wish I could tell you that his blindness is only temporal, but nobody will know for at least a month. The force of the blow from the heater has damaged his cornea and could cause cataracts to form in his eyes. That's all we can figure out so far. He'll need to see a specialist." Finished Chris.

"Thanks Chris. I owe you one." sighed Dave. He said goodbye to his friend and drove home._ At least he has a chance...I'm going to make sure this isn't permanent._

When they got home, Dave decided to keep Alvin in his room just for the night. The others would probably wake him in the morning if he slept in his own bed. So without bothering to change, Dave collapsed onto his bed and drifted off, Alvin still in his arms.

The Next Morning...

Alvin woke early the next morning, the anaesthesia finally worn off. His stretch was followed by a yelp of pain as his is ribs twinged in anger. His body seemed to ache all over as he tried to open his eyes, but they seem to be clamped shut. With a free hand, he felt his face and discovered patches of fur missing along the bandage blinding him, "What's going on? Where _the hell_ am I?"

"Watch your language Alvin." grunted a familiar voice from nearby. The person shifted around on the mattress. One whiff of the air around him told Alvin it was Dave. "How are you feeling? That was quite a blow last night."

"Very sore. I feel so stiff," groaned Alvin in reply. He shifted in the blanket, "So where am I right now?"

"You're in my room, that's where _the hell_ you are." Dave said sarcastically before saying, "Go back to sleep, I'll wake you up in a couple of hours for breakfast. It's only 9 am." He got out of bed with a yawn and grabbed a new set of clothes from the closet.

Alvin listened intently to the sounds of clothing being pulled off coat hangers, "Where are you going?"

"Uh, to have a shower like I always do first thing in the morning." came Dave's reply from the bedroom door, "I'll see you later, alright?"

"Fine." And with a click of the door, Dave was gone. Alvin gave another yawn, turned over and fell back asleep. This was one of those rare times when he wasn't going to object to what Dave was telling him to do.

In the kitchen, the other five chipmunks were already up and eating breakfast. None of them had gotten much sleep during the night, so it was no surprise that they all head their heads slumped and had to put up a fight with their eyelids to stay open.

"I can hear Dave in shower," announced Theodore, waking Jeanette out of her daze across from him. "They came home pretty late didn't they?"

Eleanor lifted her head out of her bowl of cornflakes, a couple of them falling of her chin as she said, "Well what do you expect Theo? Alvin was pretty banged up from that blow. It's a wonder he came home last night at all!"

"I wonder what the damage is?" wondered Jeanette aloud, looking around at Simon as if he knew the answer.

"Jean, I wouldn't have a clue. We'll ask Dave when he comes out." He looked into her eyes and stroked one of her hands reassuringly, "I very much doubt he has anything life threatening."

Brittany joined in the conversation at that point, "Man, I hope your right Si. I couldn't get any sleep last night with him like that." She sighed and hung her head in guilt. "If I hadn't have been so lazy and had turned on the heater...I can't believe I let him—It should've been me!" Brittany suddenly broke down in tears, "I feel so guilty!"

"You and I both, Britt." said Dave, walking into the kitchen as Brittany's sisters pulled her into a hug. "I was there too remember? But we can't blame ourselves. I mean, we didn't know that the heater was going to blow up did we?"

"No." sobbed Brittany, "Of course not Dave. So how is he?"

"Uhhhh...well," began Dave slowly, "He managed to fracture a couple of ribs and the cuts didn't need any stitches so they'll heal quite quickly." Dave had to choose his next words carefully to reveal the bad news. _Just say it! Quick and painless! Here we go!_

"Dave was there something else?" asked Simon.

"Yeah Si, there is. Uhhhh...Alvin's gone blind...and um...there's a chance he'll never see again."


	3. We're Here For You

"We're Here For You."

"What?" asked Simon in disbelief. _Dave can't be telling the truth. He's lying...yeah...He's just playing some sort of sick joke on us...is he?_

"You heard right, Simon." Said Dave softly, seeing the look of absolute denial on Simons face. "I didn't want to believe it either, but it's true."

"What's going to happen to Alvin if this is permanent?" asked Eleanor, hugging the shocked Theodore, "What will we do then?"

"I just know what we are going to do_ now_." replied Dave in a more stronger and confident voice. "Alvin hasn't really taken in the fact that he might never see again. So until it sinks in, be careful about what you say in front of him, nothing negative. Right now, he needs us as a family. He needs loads of support and a shoulder to cry on. This is going to be a long, tiresome journey for all of us. Understand?" This was more of a demand then a question.

"Of course Dave." said Theodore, "He would do the same for us." Everybody nodded vigorously in agreement.

What nobody realised was Alvin already needed a shoulder to cry on.

_Why me? Why is it always me? Is this karma for putting Dave in hospital in Paris? Is this payback for every stupid, rotten prank or the nasty things I've said? Of course not, don't be ridiculous...It's that goddamn heaters fault. But why did it have to take my eyesight away? With all the things I still want to see...All the places I wanted to perform...Let's face it, my life is over..._

The poor Chipmunk, still in Dave's bed, was sobbing hysterically to himself. Tears filled his sore eyes, causing the bandage to become wet and soggy. Each sob made his fractured ribs to jolt causing unnecessary pain. Right at that moment, he had never felt so sore, sad or alone as he wept away.

On the way to the bathroom, Theodore heard the weeping and instinctively told the others. He and Simon were, of course, the first ones to try to console their brother.

_Knock, knock, knock! _"Alvin? Are you okay?" called Theodore.

"Go away!" cried Alvin in reply. His little brothers have never seen him cry before and they weren't going to see it today. "I'm fine!"

"But we can hear you crying!" Simon called back.

"I'm fine! Now leave me alone!"

"But we can hear y-!"

"I said get lost!"

Theodore would usually give in at this point, but since the last time something like this went on, he was much more mature. He knew Alvin actually wanted somebody to console him, but was still too proud to cry in front of his little brothers. So without warning, Theodore pushed his way inside the room, followed nervously by Simon.

When the boys laid eyes on their big brother, they were pretty shocked. Alvin had of course been injured before, but neither had ever seen him in this condition. They didn't need to see his eyes. His body language alone told them he was enormously tired and stressed out.

"I thought I told you to leave me alone." Alvin whispered with his back to his brothers.

Simon came quietly up to him and laid a paw on his shoulder, "You did, but have we ever really listened to you?"

"Obviously not," Alvin choked as he fought back a sob.

Theodore crawled up and clutched on to Alvin's arm to give an indication of where he was, "We know you need us. So go on, let it out."

"I guess I don't have a choice do I?" And with that, Alvin burst back into tears, crying louder than before. Both the boys clutched on to him in an awkward hug, they seemed to be able to feel his pain through that connection common in triplets. Within a few minutes, Dave and the Chipettes creeped through the open door. Dave sat down on the bed as the girls joined their boyfriends.

Alvin could feel five pairs of arms holding him in a gentle embrace. It gave him a wonderful sense of warmth that no blanket nor heater could ever match. He slowly inhaled all of their scents at once, creating one perfect honey smell in his nose. Dave sent a shiver down Alvin's spine when he unexpectedly started stroking his son's sore back.

"You know, we're here for you, don't you?" whispered Brittany. She planted a kiss on Alvin's forehead, making him calm down a bit, 'For better or for worse."

"We wouldn't just sit back and let you go on like this." added Simon. "You're our big brother. You'd do the same for us."

"Yeah!" agreed Theodore.

"That's great to know, guys. But that won't bring my eyesight back..." Alvin sobbed.

Suddenly, Simon had a brainstorm. He remembered that there was a song Alvin always sang to him or Theodore when they were feeling down._ Perhaps, he'll cheer up if we sing it to him. _So without further ado, off Simon went in a nice gentle melody:

**So** **no one told you life was gonna be this way.  
Your job's a joke, you're broke, your love life's D O A.  
It's like you're always stuck in second gear.  
When it hasn't been your day, your week  
Your month or even your year but;**

Everyone stared in confusion, while Alvin quietened down and listened intently.

**I'll be there for you.  
(When the rain starts to pour)  
I'll be there for you.  
(Like I've been there before)  
I'll be there for you.  
('Cause you're there for me too)**

Theodore caught on and felt obliged to sing the next verse.

**You're still in bed at ten and work began at eight.  
You've burned your breakfast so far, but things are going great.  
Your mother warned you there'd be days like these.  
But she didn't tell you when the world,  
Has brought you down to your knees that;**

**I'll be there for you.  
(When the rain starts to pour)  
I'll be there for you.  
(Like I've been there before)  
I'll be there for you.  
('Cause you're there for me too)**

Both boys sang the Coda as a smile creeped on Alvin's face.

**No one could ever know me, no one could ever see me.  
Since you're the only one who knows what it's like to be me.  
Someone to face the day with, make it through all the rest with.  
Someone I'll always laugh with.  
Even at my worst, I'm best with you, yeah!**

**It's like you're always stuck in second gear.  
When it hasn't been your day, your week,  
Your month, or even your year.**

The girls finally recognised the song and joined in too.

**I'll be there for you.  
(When the rain starts to pour)  
I'll be there for you.  
(Like I've been there before)  
I'll be there for you.  
('Cause you're there for me too)**

**I'll be there for you.  
(When the rain starts to pour)  
I'll be there for you.  
(Like I've been there before)  
I'll be there for you.  
('Cause you're there for me too)**

As they finished, Alvin let out a chuckle. _Trust Simon to remember that. _

"Thanks, guys. I really needed that." yawned Alvin, feeling around the bed and pulling up the blanket a little more. Dave motioned to everyone it was time to leave and they pulled out of the embrace. Brittany cupped Alvin's paw and stroked his palm gently before exiting the room. "Where are you going?"

"Just into the living room. If you need anything, just holler." replied Dave. And with that he too, exited closing the door behind him. Alvin sighed with a smile. The sobbing was now happily behind him for the moment.

_Maybe, my life isn't over after all... Perhaps with all the support I have, I can get past this feeling of doubt and worry...I might even get my sight back!...Even if I don't, at least I don't have to go through it alone... _

And with that hopeful thought, Alvin could fall asleep with no fear of nightmares.


	4. Do The Alvin Twist

Do the Alvin Twist!

A few days later, Alvin woke up, still in Dave's room and feeling much better. His ribs were still giving him a bit of grief, preventing him from standing up, but today for the first time, he was leaving the room. Tonight, he could finally sleep in his own bed and that thought alone brightened up his mood.

"Morning Dave!," he greeted cheerfully as he heard his dad enter the room, "How was your shower?" Dave looked at him, surprised about his sudden change of mood.

"Uhhhh...It was okay..." he replied. It took Dave a moment to shake off the confusion before asking, "So, ready to get out of here?"

"I'd thought you'd never ask!" replied Alvin, sitting up slowly and tenderly, pushing the blanket off his body.

"Here. I made you a new sweater. The other one had blood stains that wouldn't come off." said Dave, assisting the unseeing chipmunk with pulling it on. "Alvin, your head doesn't go through your sleeve." He chuckled, correcting the mistake, "Great, now you've got it on backwards." He laughed again. Alvin gave a yelp of pain. "What happened?"

"Nothing, my ribs were stretched a little too far that's all," came a muffled answer as Alvin finally pulled his head through the right hole.

"Ok, up we get," said Dave, propping Alvin on his shoulder. "Okay ready? All clothing on correctly? Got your head screwed on-?"

"Dave!"

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself," said Dave with a childish chuckle. Making sure he didn't drop his son, Dave cruised out the door, through the living room, to the kitchen. Simon and Eleanor were already eating breakfast, the others decided to have a sleep in.

"Morning Si and Ellie," greeted Alvin as usual. _Hold on a second...How do I know it's them when I can't see them? _Dave appeared to be thinking along the same lines. He stopped dead in his tracks causing Alvin to lose his grip and nearly fall off.

"How on earth did you know?" gasped Simon. He and Eleanor exchanged quizzical looks.

"I was right?" asked Alvin, hauling himself carefully back up, feeling pretty surprised at himself. "I-I don't know how I knew...I just knew."

"That's amazing!" exclaimed Eleanor, "Quick! Guess who's coming in right now!"

Alvin flicked his ears behind him and heard faint footsteps. Footsteps of someone who sounded like they were a little heavier then himself. Someone who smelled like fresh chock-chip cookies. Someone like—

"Morning Theodore."

"Your right!" said an amazed Dave. _How the hell is he doing this? This is amazing..._

"How did he work that out?" questioned Theodore, immediately being as confused as the others. He looked over at Simon and Eleanor, but they merely shrugged their shoulders.

"That's what we're trying to figure out." answered Simon.

"Well, you're just about to get a little more help. Britt and Jean just walked in," commentated Alvin smartly. He was loving making everyone so confused about this. While Brittany and Jeanette took their turn to be confused, he thought: _I know exactly how I knew who's who. Their movements, their voices, their scents are all completely devisable to me now. Maybe this being blind thing isn't all bad after all...There are some good points..._

His thoughts were soon distracted by a delicious smell that came wafting up his nose. _Mmmmm...That has to be Theodore's Toaster Waffle Honey Surprise... _Alvin took another whiff of the air _...with strawberry ice cream, whipt cream and a cherry on top. _He felt himself drooling at the very thought. The smell seemed to come closer as Dave started moving around again, making Alvin nearly jump out of his skin. 

"Just to prevent any mess, I'm afraid I'll have to hand feed you." sighed Dave, walking into the living room and slumping onto his favourite recliner, still balancing both Alvin and the plate. He laid Alvin gently on his right knee, who tried to crawl over to the plate on the left, but was replaced back onto the right much to his annoyance. "Have a bit of patience will you?"

"Well I'm hungry!" moaned Alvin. He tried to make a second attempt, but it was foiled by Simon pulling him back into a lying position. His ribs seemed to sigh in relief as he laid back, "...Wait...did you say _hand feed you?"_

"That's exactly what I said," Dave answered, shoving a piece of waffle into his sons mouth.

_Great...Fantastic...How humiliating...I might as well be a zoo animal... _thought Alvin irritably, chewing away. The fantastic, delicious flavour of honey melted in his mouth and trickled down his throat, but that was all spoiled by his annoyance.

20 minutes later, 10 bites later and with the waffle eaten, Dave drove everyone over to Liberty Records for practice. He placed Alvin on the piano and said, "Today we gonna start playing songs from the 60's and 70's for our "Rockin' Through the Decades" TV special in three weeks time. Now, I already have a few songs in mind and one of them has been written by someone we all know."

Dave looked at each chipmunk in turn during this little speech before turning to Alvin, "I think you know who I'm talking about _and_ which song I'm talking about...Do I even need to ask?"

"Of course not!" cried Alvin, he slowly stood up on the piano, "Dave, you know what to do!" Dave smiled knowingly.

"What's going on?" asked Brittany, as Dave set up the Jazz Band he had hired, "Alvin isn't supposed to be standing up!"

"Of course not, but no injury has managed to stop him from performing yet!" exclaimed Simon, a grin spreading on his face, "Especially when the Alvin Twist is involved!"

"The Alvin Twist?"

"Yeah!" cried Theodore, "You're gonna love it! It's surprisingly catchy!"

Suddenly, the Jazz band started playing and Alvin suddenly stood frozen still. As the saxophones started bellowing, he began to feel dizzy. His mind went racing at a million miles per hour then went blank as he felt himself fall into that very familiar trance...

"This is Alvin at his best." Dave explained to the confused Chipettes, who had never been in this situation before.

Simon and Theodore hopped up near their blind brother, just in case he nearly falls off the piano. Alvin started moving his head and body in a rhythmic sway, while his feet started shuffling, completely oblivious to his fractured ribs. Dave handed him a guitar and he started Rockin' about as he sang:

**Come on Simon! Do the Alvin Twist!**

**(Delighted!)**

**Come on Theodore! How can you resist?**

**(Hee hee hee! I can't!)**

**Ya gotta twist way up!**

**Ya gotta twist way down!**

**Ya gotta, jump, turn,**

**And twist around!**

**Everybody, do the Alvin Twist!**

The Chipettes giggled as they started shuffling their feet to the music. Simon and Theodore were doing well, but no one could catch up to Alvin.

**Here we go now,**

**Listen to the beat!**

**Once you got it,**

**Start to move your feet!**

**Ya gotta move your back,**

**Ya gotta move your knees!**

**Come on and lets, do,**

**The Twist with me!**

**Everybody, do the Alvin Twist!**

The song caught the attention of a few staff members and they too joined the fun. Alvin was now doing something entirely different. Still shuffling his feet, he was now twisting and thrusting his whole body, swishing his tail in a circular motion, leaning back and then leaning in. Occasionally spinning around, it would've been the most peculiar thing to watch.

**Lean way back!**

**Lean way in!**

**Turn and Twist till,**

**Your head starts spinning!**

**You look good,**

**You look fine!**

**Just keep a-twisting,**

**Like a honeysuckle vine!**

**Twistin', **

**Everywhere you go.**

**From old Boston,**

**To the Alamo.**

**If ya wanna be smart,**

**If ya wanna be wise.**

**Take up your fun,**

**And your exercise.**

**Everybody, do the Alvin Twist!**

**Let's go!**

Alvin was twisting around the piano with the guitar, just missing the edges as if he had been blind all his life. To him, this has always been the funniest thing he can do. Everybody was having an absolute blast. Simon, Jeanette, Theodore and Eleanor, were all twisting in their couples while Brittany had managed to get up to the standard of her counterpart and was doing the Twist brilliantly.

"Hey Alvin!" she shouted over the music, "This is making me feel dizzy!"

"That's good! It means you're doing it right!," he called back, not stopping the Twist for anything, "Doesn't it feel fantastic?"

"Hell yeah!"

**Lean way back!**

**Lean way in!**

**Turn and Twist till,**

**Your head starts spinning!**

**You look good,**

**You look fine!**

**Just keep a-twisting,**

**Like a honeysuckle vine!**

**Twistin', **

**Every **

**To the Alamo.**

**If ya wanna be smart,**

**If ya wanna be wise.**

**Take up your fun,**

**And your exercise.**

**Everybody, do the Alvin Twist!**

**where you go.**

**From old Boston,**

As the music ended, Alvin immediately slowed down, the feeling coming back into his body and his mind going back to normal. He collapsed to the ground absolutely exhausted as he broke out of the trance of the Twist. Pulling the guitar away and placing it next to him, his ribs twinged in anger, causing him to wince and yelp in pain. _Oh man,...what a way to get back into reality._


	5. Still Going Blind

Still Going Blind

Exactly a week later, Alvin's ribs had healed, so it was time to get the cast taken off around his chest. Now he didn't know this yet, Dave didn't want to worry him, but it was also time to take the bandage off his eyes for a quick check.

It was an awkward drive to the Clinic for Dave. The chipmunks were all chatting happily in the backseat, discussing who would help Alvin do what, now he no longer needed to ride everywhere on Dave's shoulder. So far, they had decided to work in shifts around the day.

Simon in the early morning would swap with Theodore, who'd swap with Eleanor at lunch. She would take him until 3:00, then swap with Jeanette, who'd take him till dinner. Brittany would then take him until bedtime and then it all starts again. If they were going to go long distances outside the house, Alvin was to ride on Dave's shoulder.

"But, what happens when he needs to go to the bathroom?" questioned Eleanor, noticing that one glitch. "There's no way _in hell_ I'm going in with him!" All of them slumped over each other as Dave turned the corner.

"Just wait at the door until I'm finished," replied Alvin, getting a little bit edgy at this particular subject, "I'm a big boy, I'm sure I can find my way around a bathroom."

"Well, what if you fall in?" teased Simon, sensing Alvin's irritable mood uprising by the second. "Do we have to go in for a rescue mission?" Unsurprisingly, Alvin ignored him. Everyone laughed.

"Will you guys quit the potty talk? We're here." announced Dave as he pulled into the car park. Everybody piled out of the car, Brittany assisting her boyfriend. Dave picked him up, put him on his shoulder and walked into the Clinic. There, he was greeted by Dr. Chris. The girls all gasped when they saw him. Let me give you a description of Chris, he...is..._hot!_

Originally from Australia, Chris moved over to America just before college. In college is where he met Dave and Ian Hawke, before moving off to a Medical School to become a Vet. With his red hair, gleaming blue eyes, a handsome face with a six pack and Pecs you could almost see through his shirt, it was enough to make the best lesbians turn straight!

"Dave! Good to see you again!" greeted Chris happily in a thick Australian accent, shaking Dave's hand enthusiastically, "I just wish we were seeing each other under better circumstances." He finished, giving a nod of his head at Alvin. "Well let's get that cast off, eh?"

Chris led everyone into a room nearby. All the walls were a different colour, making it less depressing compared to a hospital room. Dave placed Alvin on the table while Chris set up a lethal-looking instrument. Alvin heard Chris attach a razor onto the instrument and gulped in panic. All the other chipmunks sat on a few chairs up against the wall, the Chipettes still staring at Chris, absolutely mesmerised.

"Been feeling a bit stiff?" asked Chris, still fiddling with the razor.

"Yes, but not as much as I thought I would." answered Alvin, still considering making a run for it. Dave seemed to sense this and quickly moved over to the table just in case.

"Okay, that's good." said Chris thoughtfully, now bringing the mini electric saw over to the table, "Good, now just relax, this won't hurt."

The saw went on with a _"Brrrrrrrrr!" _Dave slid Alvin's sweater off and held him on the spot, preventing the panicking chipmunk from moving a muscle. He struggled against Dave's surprisingly strong grip, but no luck. _"Brrrrrrrrr!" _The razor started to cut into the plaster as Chris gently cut down Alvin's back, the pressure lifting off it is he went.

Finally, the cast fell off. Chris turned the saw off and Dave released his grip. Alvin pulled away from him, gasping. He had held his breath the whole time.

"Is that better?" asked Jeanette, amused at Alvin's attempted escape.

"Oh, hell yeah." He gasped as he pulled on his red sweater. Dave sighed _Well, there goes the easy part...now for the confronting part._

"Now Alvin," began Chris solemnly, "Today we are going to see how your eyes are improving, the worst should be over by now. Just remember, if you can't see anything, that's alright. It's way too early to tell if this is permanent anyway." He finished, pulling up a chair next to the table and starting to unravel the bandage.

"Now, cover your eyes with your paws," he instructed. Alvin did as he was told as the bandage was fully removed, "Now, slowly open your eyes as you pull away your paws." Alvin slowly opened his eyes, they were bloodshot. He lowered his paws and blinked, staring around the room at random.

"Well?" asked Theodore, "Can you-?" He was cut off by Simon.

"Shut up and give him a moment," he hissed, glaring at his little brother disapprovingly. Simon looked over at his big brother on the table, concerned. _Please say there's some indication of you going back to normal...I can't stand you being like this..._

Brittany was thinking the same thing. _I just want you to be yourself again...I love you too much to see you be disappointed repeatedly..._

"Alvin..." began Dave slowly, hope rising up in his stomach as he spoke, "Can you see anything?" Alvin looked up blankly in his direction and Dave's heart seemed to deflate. Alvin was looking directly at him, but Dave could tell his eyes weren't actually _seeing_ anything. _Damn..._

"No...no I can't."

Simon and Theodore immediately leaped over to their brother, clutching onto him as he started shaking. Tears began falling down his face as he fell into their embrace, his eyes still staring around blankly.

Chris sighed. _This is always the hardest part...Man, sometimes I hate this job... time for a bit of comfort on my part..._

"Alvin...just because you can't see now doesn't mean that this is the end result." He said reassuringly, "If any signs of getting your eyesight back comes, it'll be in a few weeks time."

"Are you sure?" choked Alvin, pulling out of his brothers embrace and looking up in Chris's direction hopefully.

"I'm sure. For now just take it easy." replied Chris, putting a grateful smile on Alvin's face. Chris smiled back.

After getting two bottles of prescription eye drops from Chris, it was time to go home. Everyone was disappointed, but grateful that there was still some hope left for Alvin.

"Well, how bout we order out for pizza?" asked Dave, "The usual I expect?" Everybody nodded enthusiastically.

"Uhhhh...Okay," agreed Alvin," But you might want to go for an extra pizza."

"Why's that?"

"Claire's just about to knock."


	6. Watch It Grandpa!

Watch It Grandpa

"_Uhhhh...Okay," agreed Alvin," But you might want to go for an extra pizza."_

"_Why's that?"_

"_Claire's just about to knock."_

Dave looked stunned as the door, as if on cue, started knocking.

_Rap, rap, rap! Knock, knock!_

Still slightly taken a back, Dave walked over to the door and opened it to reveal...(Yeah, you guessed it!)...Claire. But she wasn't alone.

From the living room, the chipmunks heard Dave say in an astounded voice, "What are all of you doing here?"

"SURPRISE!" came a crowd of voices from the porch. Each chipmunk looked at each other confused, what the hell was going on?

"Why didn't you tell us about Alvin?" a voice demanded to know.

"Yeah, what's up with that Dave?" asked a female voice.

"Do you how we found out?" questioned a voice that sounded like Claire's.

"Through Chris Hill that's how." huffed Aunt Jackie's voice.

"Why didn't you tell us?" repeated an older females voice.

"I thought we were your parents!" grunted an old male voice.

"I thought I was your cousin!" exclaimed a young male voice.

"Well—I-Uh-Um-" spluttered Dave. _Aaaaarrgh! Too many questions and accusations going on! _"Look just come inside first, there could be paparazzi hiding nearby and I don't want this in the tabloids." Dave opened the door a little bit wider, allowing the group of irritated humans inside. The first man who had spoke, came in last, pushing Aunt Jackie over the threshold.

"Dave? What's going on?" asked Theodore, looking up at all the humans, stunned. "Why's everyone here?"

"Because your dad owes us an explanation," replied the first man, giving Dave an annoyed glare before sitting on the couch.

"Ross? Is that you?" asked a confused Alvin. _I could've sworn it was just Claire. _As the humans argued further, Alvin soon identified everyone who had showed up..._Claire Wilson, Aunt Jackie, Toby Seville, Grandma and Grandpa Seville...and holy crap!... Janice Karman and Ross Bagdasarian Jr!_

"Okay look..." began Dave, deciding to get straight to the point before they chew his head off, "I didn't tell you because I knew all of you would've been constantly visiting Alvin—"

"You didn't want us visiting him?"

"—Because-" continued Dave ignoring Grandma Seville's butt-in," I knew he was in a lot of pain, both physically and mentally exhausted and just didn't need a lot of people constantly around him. Alvin already had his brothers, his girlfriend, her sisters and me, that was quite enough."

The room went silent for a moment while the humans took in this explanation word for word. Toby seemed to be muttering it back to himself while Grandma and Grandpa just sat there, arms folded staring into space. Aunt Jackie looked as though she had drifted off to sleep for a nanna nap. Ross Jr sat back and began slapping a drum beat on his lap, obviously wanting the conversation to move forward.

"So...this blindness thing...is it permanent?" asked Claire slowly, trying not to say the wrong thing, "Chris didn't tell me when he called." Everybody looked over at Dave in interest, but it was Alvin who answered.

"We don't know yet. Apparently it'll still be a while before anyone can be sure." He replied. He felt a lump in his throat as he said the next part, "If there's any chance I'll get my eyesight back, it will only be sm—" Alvin couldn't find it in himself to finish the sentence as he fought back the tears forming in his eyes. It wasn't hard to set him off these days.

Brittany rubbed his shoulder reassuringly as she finished the sentence for him, "Unfortunately, there's only a small chance he'll go back to normal." Alvin turned his head in Brittany's direction and felt her nose press against his affectionately.

"Oh good, that means we won't have to divorce him from the family." Said the gruff Grandpa Seville, looking satisfied. Everyone looked over at him in astonishment.

"And just what do you mean by that?" asked Theodore accusingly, bounding over next to Alvin.

"What he means is, the Seville family can't afford to have any uh..._peculiarities _ in the bloodline." answered Grandma Seville. Dave was shocked. His parents had never said anything like this before. He just couldn't believe it.

"Are you calling my son _dirty blooded_? Just because he can't see? _How dare you?" _Dave roared the last part. Claire and Janice quickly jumped up from their seats and held Dave back from running at his parents.

"He's been dirty blooded from the moment you adopted him!" roared Grandpa, "Him and those other two little rats you call our grandchildren! They're chipmunks! They belong in the forest! You should've just let Ian Hawke take them away!"

Simon let out a low growl in anger at being called a dirty blooded rat. He ushered the girls and Theodore to their bedroom, but Claire got in the way, "Quick! Come with me, my flat is only a couple of doors down."

Claire and the chipmunks made a run for the door, Claire grabbing Alvin as she ran. When they piled out of the door, Alvin jumped out of her hands and said, "Don't worry about me, keep going, I'll find my way back in."

"Are you sure?" asked Eleanor, flinching at the yelling from inside the house. Alvin looked in her direction and nodded.

"I'm the cause of this fight, so it's up to me to end it." He said calmly, "Stay at Claire's tonight and whatever you do, don't come back. I'll see you in the morning." Alvin sensed concern and worry spread through the group in front of him, "I promise you I'll be fine, now get out of here!" Still, nobody moved. "Go! Now!"

With the others now gone, Alvin ran slowly and cautiously back into the living room, a new burning sensation inside him. Something that he hadn't felt in a long time. On the way in, he successfully dodged everything in his blind path, moving around seemed to be second nature to him. By now, Toby had finally decided to have his say in the conversation.

"You talk about not having any peculiarities in the family," he began, staring at his aunt and uncle with distaste, "You don't want anyone with disabilities in the family because you think it will damage the bloodline. You don't like them because they're animals. Correct?"

"Correct, we don't want anything like_ that_ in the family," answered Grandma, pointing at Alvin in disgust. Janice picked him up to stop him from running into Aunt Jackie's wheelchair and kept him in her arms. "No exceptions can be made when it comes to the bloodline, it's too important!"

"_No exceptions? " _asked Toby incredulously, "_No exceptions? _Uh...Hello? I'm the best example of a exception to this family there is! While the rest of the family is in the music business, I have no job or career at all! But the chipmunks on the other hand is making this family rich! If anyone should be divorced from the family, it should be me!"

"Don't be ridiculous Toby," said Dave sincerely, "If anyone should be kicked out, it should be the two liars in front of me I thought were my parents! Were you ever planning on telling me how you felt about this?"

"We tried to son, but your head was so full of chipmunks, it just bounced off your thick skull!" roared Grandpa, "I wonder how my dad would react if he saw his grandson acting like an absolute tool!"

At that moment, Ross Jr jumped out of his seat in anger. He had kept his tongue until now, but that comment made him lose his temper. He looked around at Grandpa Seville in fury and walked towards him until they were almost nose to nose.

"Oh really?" he asked, letting spit fly as he spoke. His voice was dangerously quiet, "Well I wonder how _my dad _would feel about seeing his _best friend_, treating his son like a pile of dirt!" he growled, every word tinged with hatred.

There was a flash of movement and Bagdasarian was sent flying to the ground, his nose bleeding. He pulled himself to his feet just as Grandpa jumped up. Ross rushed at him, but found himself being held back by Dave and Toby. Grandma held Grandpa back, while Janice took Alvin out of the firing line. Alvin knew it was now or never.

"ENOUGH!" he cried jumping onto the coffee table, "Enough! I've just about had it with all of you! This is not what a family does! This is not on! Now all of you SIT DOWN before I bite you! I'm warning you, my rabies shot is _long _overdue!"

When Alvin heard everyone sit down he continued in a calmer voice, "Thank you. Now Toby, no you shouldn't be divorced from the family, you belong just as much as I do—"

"You do not belong-!"

"SHUT UP! I'll get to you in a minute!" snarled Alvin to Grandma Seville. She huffed at him.

"And Dave, as always you've proven to be one of the best people I know, so have you Ross. And you Janice." He continued, his voice filled with gratitude to the three of them. They all smiled at one another, Ross stuffing his nose with tissues to stop the bleeding. "Thank you, I can trust you with my life."

"And as for _you two,_" Alvin continued, turning in the two Grunt heads direction, the snarl returning to his voice, "We always knew you hated us, it was always a matter of time before Dave found out. And whether you like it or not, Simon, Theodore, Brittany, Jeanette, Eleanor and I are a part of this family and that's not going to change just because you say so."

Grandpa and Grandma Seville hung their heads in defeat. They knew it was no use arguing any further, the chipmunk was right. Not saying anything else, they got up and made their way to the door. Dave followed them. As they got into their sedan, he called, "I'll call you tomorrow! We are not done!" And with that he slammed the door behind him.

"Good riddance I say!" said Janice, picking Ross and herself up, "We'll call you in a few days when every ones cooled off a bit. It's getting late." Dave and Alvin bid them good bye, along with Toby and Aunt Jackie not long after.

"That was some enchanted evening, don't you think?" joked Alvin, not having much else to say. Dave just yawned in reply. He picked Alvin up and dumped him on his bed, too tired to say anything.

_Huh...I guess we'll discuss it in the morning... _


	7. Sing Us A Song

Sing Us A Song, You're The Piano Man

It had been a couple of weeks since the fight. Dave still wasn't talking to his parents, but I really doubt he cared. Now that he knew the truth, about what they thought, about his boys and their girlfriends, it was going to be a while before he'd get over it. In the meantime, Dave's attention was focused on his blind son and the concert they were performing on live television.

It was sure to be a fantastic night, but for it to go well, it needed tons of preparation. The Chipmunks and Chipettes were helping in any way they could with last minute checks. Brittany was helping out with planning makeup and wardrobe. Simon and Jeanette were helping out with the lighting and amplifier set-ups. Theodore and Eleanor were just causing trouble, trying to help with the camera set ups.

"I'm sorry! I have no idea how that happened!" cried Theodore, holding up a lens he had managed to break off a camera. Eleanor pulled Theodore out of the way just in time, as the cameraman took a swipe at them.

Meanwhile, Alvin was on stage, feeling his way around to different instruments. He found his guitar and made sure it was plugged into an amp nearby. Dave, who was tuning his own guitar, looked over and laughed. Alvin had just managed to get himself tangled in the cord leading to his amp and was struggling to get out. "Help! Blind guy trapped here!"

"Seriously, why don't you let Simon do it instead?" chucked Dave, now unwinding the cord around Alvin and pulling it off.

"Because it's my responsibility, it's my guitar!" said Alvin, playing a few notes, "Geez, my B-sharp sounds more like a B-flat, that can't be good..." Dave too tested out his B-sharp. Alvin listened to him strum the note and added, "Try tightening the string a bit more."

Dave did as suggested and strummed B-sharp once more, it was in perfect tune. _How the hell does he do that? _His thoughts were cut short as Brittany appeared out of nowhere. She wrapped her hands around Alvin's waist, startling him and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"What did I do to deserve that?" he whispered.

"Well...I'm all done with the makeup and wardrobe...and uh...I wanna talk to you...alone." she whispered in reply and giggled. "Excuse us, Dave." Brittany led Alvin backstage into her dressing room and locked the door behind her.

The lock clicked shut. Brittany pulled Alvin towards her and helped him find her waist so he could grasp it. Alvin laughed at her eagerness to be loved. Just to tease her, he ran his fingers gently up and down, just barely grazing her sides. That sent a shiver down Brittany's spine and she gasped, "Great. Thanks for that, now I'm cold."

To get back at him, Brittany shoved Alvin roughly up against the nearest wall. On purpose, she leaned in next to his ear and blew slowly and softly into it. Feeling him shiver made her giggle in triumph, but it was Alvin that got the last laugh. In one swift movement, he lifted her up and swung her around so she was against the wall instead. The winning move was when he mischievously licked her earlobe.

"Alvin! Seriously! Sometimes I wonder about you..."

"All of it dirty I hope"

"Alvin!"

"Hey! You should feel lucky," whispered Alvin in her ear, "I only treat girls like this when they have taste." He slowly exhaled. That sent another shiver down her spine.

"Oh...so you think I have taste then?"

Alvin pulled her even closer, "I dunno, let me taste you." He closed the distance between their lips. Brittany immediately felt her knees go weak, so it was lucky that Alvin was holding her so tightly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and started kissing back, putting a sweet strawberry flavour on Alvin's lips. _Yep, she definitely has taste..._

Brittany started running her fingers through Alvin's tuft of hair. He in response, made the kiss even more intense causing her to nearly melt in his arms. Now, they had never French kissed before, so when Alvin tried to slip the tongue, Brittany panicked and pulled away instantly. But he was consistent with her and tried a second and third time.

On the fourth time, Brittany hesitantly opened her mouth a little bit more and didn't regret it. The minute she gave in, Alvin's tongue slid in and traced every inch of her mouth it could reach. She groaned softly and decided to give him the same pleasure. But as her tongue slipped out, Alvin's caught it and coaxed it to play with his instead. As she obliged, both of them felt a zing of ecstasy and moaned.

The kiss lasted for a brilliantly long time before they broke apart again. Neither of them wanted to let go from their comfortable embrace.

"If you can still kiss like that when you're blind, I'd love to see what you could do at forth base" panted Brittany. Alvin gave her a mischievous grin and stroked her hair gently.

"Yeah, well as fun as that sounds, I'd prefer be able to see you—"

"Alvin? Brittany?" came Jeanette's soft voice, knocking on the door, "If you're in there, we're on in an hour!"

"Okay! I'll start getting ready!" called Brittany, "Come on Al, I take you to your dressing room."

The Concert.

Dave gave everyone the usual pep talk before sending them onto the stage. The Chipettes walked out before the Chipmunks, who were making sure Alvin didn't run into anything, If he had've, it wouldn't have been a very graceful entry.

Dave walked out onto the stage after them and picked up a microphone. In a very pompous and proud voice he exclaimed, "Tonight is a very special night. Not only are we celebrating the most brilliant songs from the 60's to 80's, but we are also raising money for a very special charity to be named later." The audience gave a grand applause at this introduction and Dave continued.

"Tonight, we will be covering everybody from the Beatles to AC/DC. All of the bands we are paying tribute to tonight have given nearly four generations of fans much pleasure and joy. Much like a friend of ours, who we all love and enjoy being in the company of. Unfortunately, this friend suffered in a freak accident a few weeks back and has been blinded. His long term fate has not yet been foretold."

The audience remained silent as he continued further, "But that hasn't yet stopped him from doing what he was born to do. Perform. And tonight, he still has come along with the band as always to give his best in every performance. So, to get the ball rolling, I call on you... Alvin, to sing for us tonight. And show the audience and the millions of people watching us from around the world, just what Inspiration is all about."

The audience erupted in encouraging applause. Dave picked Alvin up and sat him down on a chipmunk-sized piano on top of the big piano.

"Dave are you kidding me? I can't play this if I can't see the keys!" Alvin cried in panic. The audience heard this and started chanting, "Alvin! Alvin! Alvin!" He gulped. He had never been put on the spot quite like this before. Hesitantly, he started playing a few notes and the audience roared. _Hey! I'm getting it right!_

**It's nine o'clock on a Saturday,  
The regular crowd shuffles in.  
There's an old man, sitting next to me,  
Makin' love to his tonic and gin.**

Dave sat down on the big piano and placed a mini harmonica on Alvin's lap is he continued.

**He says, "Son, can you play me a memory?  
I'm not really sure how it goes,  
But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete  
When I wore a younger man's clothes."**

**la la la, di da da  
La la, di di da da dum**

His brothers and the girls took over for the chorus as Alvin started playing the harmonica

**Chorus:  
Sing us a song, you're the piano man,  
Sing us a song tonight.  
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody,  
And you've got us all feelin' all right.  
**

Dave began to play the big piano as Alvin returned to his for the second verse. 

**Now John at the bar is a friend of mine,  
He gets me my drinks for free.  
And he's quick with a joke and he'll light up your smoke,  
But there's some place that he'd rather be.  
He says, "Bill, I believe this is killing me."  
As his smile ran away from his face.  
"Well I'm sure that I could be a movie star,  
If I could get out of this place."**

**Oh, la la la, di da da  
La la, di da da da dum**

The Coda

**Now Paul is a real estate novelist,  
Who never had time for a wife.  
And he's talkin' with Davy, who's still in the Navy  
And probably will be for life.  
**

The volume of the music went up.**  
**

**And the waitress is practicing politics,  
As the businessman slowly gets stoned.  
Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness,  
But it's better than drinkin' alone.**

Chorus**  
**

**Sing us a song, you're the piano man.  
Sing us a song tonight.  
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody  
and you got us all feeling alright.**

The music dulled down to a lull as Alvin continued on:

**It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday.  
And the manager gives me a smile,  
'Cause he knows that it's me they've been comin' to see,  
To forget about their life for a while.  
And the piano, it sounds like a carnivore,  
And the microphone smells like a beer.  
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar.  
And say, "Man, what are you doin' here?"**

**Oh, la la la, di da da  
La la, di da da da dum**

For the last time, the others finished the song with the chorus.**  
**

**Sing us a song, you're the piano man.  
Sing us a song tonight.  
Well we're all in the mood for a melody,  
and you got us all feeling alright.**

The audience burst into enormous and tremendous applause when Alvin stood up to bow. Even though he couldn't see this, they gave him a standing ovation...his _first ever_. He felt five pairs of arms wrap around him.

"Alvin, that's gotta be one of your best performances ever!" called Theodore as he gave his eldest brother a big hug, "That was fantastic!"

"It wasn't _that_ good!" replied Alvin in amazement, "...I guess it was pretty good how I didn't forget the notes, but—"

"Stop being so modest!" cut in Simon, "That is so unlike you! You're freaking me out!"

Before Alvin could argue, the others burst into "The Longest Time" by Billy Joel.

**Whoa, oh, oh, oh.  
For the longest time.  
Whoa, oh, oh.  
For the longest time.  
If you said goodbye to me tonight,  
There would still be music left to write.  
What else could I do,  
I'm so inspired by you.  
That hasn't happened for the longest time.**

Simon took the next verse as a solo.

**Once I thought my innocence was gone,  
Now I know that happiness goes on.  
That's where you found me,  
When you put your arms around me.  
I haven't been there for the longest time.**

A huge grin spread on Alvin's and Dave's face as they sang on

**Whoa, oh, oh, oh  
For the longest time.  
Oh, oh, oh  
For the longest time.  
**

Brittany took the next verse.

**I'm that voice you're hearing in the hall,  
And the greatest miracle of all.  
Is how I need you,  
And how you needed me too.  
That hasn't happened for the longest time.**

Jeanette took the first Coda.

**Maybe this won't last very long,  
But you feel so right.  
And I could be wrong,  
Maybe I've been hoping too hard.  
But I've gone this far,  
And it's more that I hoped for.**

Eleanor sang on.

**Who knows how much further we'll go on,  
Maybe I'll be sorry when you're gone.  
I'll take my chances,  
I forgot how nice romance is.  
I haven't been there for the longest time.  
**

Alvin suddenly took the next Coda to everyone's surprise. He managed to locate Brittany and took her paws in his and sang:

**I had second thoughts at the start.  
I said to myself,  
Hold on to your heart.  
Now I know the woman that you are,  
You're wonderful so far,  
And it's more that I hoped for.**

He kept singing on, he wasn't done with her yet.

**I don't care what consequence it brings,  
I have been a fool for lesser things.  
I want you so bad,  
I think you ought to know that.  
I intend to hold you for  
The longest time.**

Everybody, even Dave sang the last part.

**Whoa, oh, oh, oh.  
For the longest time.  
Whoa, oh, oh.  
For the longest time.**

This time, everybody took a bow. The audience cheered on as Dave announced a commercial break. The rest of the concert was going to be a success. Donations had already been pouring in from people watching TV all over the world. One of those viewers wasn't very happy to see the show be such a success. He went by the name of Ian Muriel Hawke...


	8. The Bagdasarian Strategy

The Bagdasarian Strategy

"Dammit!" yelled Ian, glaring at the television in fury. He picked up the remote beside him on the sunken couch and shut the TV off. He was meant to throw it on the ground, but his anger caused him to throw it too hard and it smashed the TV screen. That move brought Ian to breaking point.

To calm himself down, Ian slumped himself onto the coach again. It sunk under his weight, but he didn't care. He took deep calming breaths and tried to ignore the horrible smell his shoddy apartment was giving off. The walls were a murky green colour, the plumbing didn't work and he had to shower outside. But for him, that was as good as it was going to get.

_Those stupid electricians!... I payed them the big bucks to booby trap that heater!...But they failed!... Why didn't it kill that stupid rat?...It only blinded him!...Blinded him...It only blinded him...Wait...That's perfect!...He can't see so it'll be easy to kidnap him...Oh, Ian you brilliant, obviously handsome, man...Ha! This'll be a cinch... _

_**Oh...Poor Ian...How very wrong he was...Everybody knows Alvin can make your life a living hell if he wants to...**_

A few days later, back at the Seville House. Brittany was trying out a new song that Dave had written for the Chipettes. Dave was currently out of the house, so it was Alvin who used his new found talent to play the piano for her.

_**Who's Laughing now?**_

Verse 1.

**To all the lovers who have come and gone,**

**I guess I have to say well done.**

**Even though you badly let me down,**

**I have to thank you for all the fun.**

**Nobody has broken my heart, quite like you did.**

**I guess it's all part of the game.**

**No matter how I try to keep you in my life,**

**The outcome has always been the same.**

Chorus

**I got you movin'**

**Up on your feet.**

**More than any other girl,**

**You met on the street.**

**I've still got that rhythm,**

**You gave to me to use.**

**Now look who's stuck,**

**With the Rhythm and Blues.**

**And look who's laughing now!**

Verse 2.

**I still remember the night you said goodbye.**

**Well now, I'm makin' my comeback.**

**You left me crying in my room for days.**

**Well now, I'm cuttin' the slack.**

**Getting over you has been so goddamn hard,**

**But now I'm feelin' so free.**

**And the next man that strolls into my life,**

**He's not gonna take advantage of me.**

Chorus

**I got you movin'**

**Up on your feet.**

**More than any other girl,**

**You met on the street.**

**I've still got that rhythm,**

**You gave to me to use.**

**Now look who's stuck,**

**With the Rhythm and Blues.**

**And look who's laughing now!**

Verse 3.

**I saw you the other day in the street,**

**With a girl at least half your age.**

**Yeah...uh...Gold digger much?**

**I laughing at you on this stage.**

**Now I'm glad we are over,**

**You just not good for anyone.**

**From now on things will go my way,**

**Looking out for number 1!**

The Coda.

**I'm single and free,**

**For all to see.**

**What a wonder I am.**

**I see you staring at me,**

**And you can see.**

**I no longer give a damn.**

First Chorus

**I got you movin'**

**Up on your feet.**

**More than any other girl,**

**You met on the street.**

**I've still got that rhythm,**

**You gave to me to use.**

**Now look who's stuck,**

**With the Rhythm and Blues.**

**And look who's laughing now!**

Last Chorus.

**I got you movin'**

**Up on your feet.**

**More than any other girl,**

**You met on the street.**

**I've still got that rhythm,**

**You gave to me to use.**

**Now look who's stuck,**

**With the Rhythm and Blues.**

**And look who's laughing now!**

"That was awesome!" cheered Alvin as he finished the piano happily, "You've got to hand it to Dave. I mean, who else can write a song for girls like that when he's a guy? Maybe there's something he's not telling us...hmm..." He pretended to be lost in thought. Brittany playfully pushed him off the seat and he fell to the floor laughing.

"Can't you be serious for once?" asked Brittany, jumping down to the floor next to him.

"Believe me I've tried, but everyone keeps thinking I'm sick," he replied, getting off the floor. Brittany clutched him on a shoulder and led him out to the living room. Feeling boredom coming on, he asked, "Let's try juggling the balls again!"

Brittany handed him three small balls. He threw them all up one by one, keeping perfect time...for about three seconds. Each ball bopped him on the head as they came down, before rolling away in every direction. Brittany rolled her eyes, "Oh you are _such_ a good juggler, you'll be in Circus Solique before you know it!"

"Oh, hardy har har!"

"Do I have to pick those up again?"

"Nah, let them lay there until they get it right!"

"So, now what are we gonna do?"

"Well, we could make-out, or answer the door, your pick.'

"Why? Who is it this time?"

"Ross Bagdasarian."

_Knock! Rap! Rap! Rap! Knock! Knock!_

"It's open Ross! Come in!"

"How did you know it was-? You know what? Never mind." said Ross as he closed the door, remembering Alvin's creepy new ability. He walked into the living room and slumped onto the coach in his favourite spot, "So...what's the Gruesome Twosome up to today?"

"Oh, you know the usual. Just setting each other on fire, blowing up the house room by room and starting the Apocalypse one natural disaster at a time. Nothing dangerous or anything." said Alvin, finally finding Ross on the coach and climbing onto his lap. Ross scratched his ear affectionately, "So what are you doing here?"

"Well, I thought I'd better drop by to warn you about an old friend of yours. I found out through my sources (who shall not be named), that Ian Hawke is planning to drop by here later." warned Ross, looking sincere.

"What does he want this time?" asked Alvin.

"Oh, well you know. Just to drop in, for a nice friendly kidnapping ….of you."

"_Oh really?_ Why couldn't you tell us this over the phone?" questioned Brittany.

A big, cheesy, mischievous grin spread on Ross's face as he said, "Well, what fun would that be? I wouldn't miss seeing him get humiliated again for the world! Anyway, I have the perfect plan, you're gonna love this!"

**Oh, I bet we are...**

That night, Janice quickly pulled up and ran inside the house. She carried a box with all the necessary 'equipment' to execute out Ross' plan. Everybody grabbed what they needed and spread out in the front garden. Dave, Janice and Ross were to hide behind the three huge shrubs. Simon, Jeanette and Brittany were up in the old oak while Theodore and Eleanor were hiding in the mail box.

Alvin was still inside on the coach as they thought that Ian would come through the back door. Everyone was going to make him seem victorious in his mission before pummelling him with water balloons filled with food dye and custard. This was going to be a very mucky, but colourful surprise.

"Everybody ready?" called Alvin into the walkie-talkie that was hidden underneath a coach cushion, "Team A, ready?"

"Ready!" called Theodore.

"Team B?"

"You bet!" replied Simon.

"Team C?"

"More ready than we could be!" replied Janice.

"Alright! Phase One starts now, I can hear Ian!" Alvin quickly put himself into a sleeping position in the corner of the coach. As if on cue, Ian entered the back of the house into the laundry. Alvin started some fake snoring as he heard Ian enter the living room. The snoring could be heard through the walkie-talkie to the others as a signal to get ready.

Ian circled around a coach and found his target. _Ha! Like taking candy from a baby...This is easier than I thought! _He reached out and grabbed the 'unexpecting' Chipmunk with both hands. "Ha! I got you stupid rat! You may have gotten away the last time! But I _never lose!"_

Deciding to go against the planned dialogue, Alvin improvised. He pretended to jerk awake and yelled, "Ian? What the hell are you doing here at this time at night?"

"What does it look like rat face? I'm kidnapping you!"

"Well, you could've at least waited until morning! Have you no sense of time?" asked Alvin, giving a fake yawn and giving a look of boredom. "Seriously Ian, you're becoming too predictable for my taste."

"Too predicta—Too predictable?" asked Ian in a splutter, "I'll show you predictable!"

"Watch it Ian," Alvin warned, "I would hate to see such an ambitious person like you go to jail. Neither of us would want that now would we?"

It went silent as Ian took this into consideration, "No, I guess not."

"Good choice. Anyway we both know that you're not capable of such—"

_**Uh oh, that's going a step too far...**_

Immediately, Alvin felt blood gush down his left side, he let out a cry of pain. Ian had used a pocket knife to give him a deep cut. The pain was terrible as his whole left side throbbed, but Alvin kept his wits about him, "Well, I guess I underestimated you, I apologise. But isn't using a knife the cowards way out?"

"What would you know about cowardice?" growled Ian as his grip on Alvin tightened by an enormous amount. It was all Alvin could do to stop himself whimpering.

"Oh, a many a times have I played the chicken." He replied in his calmest voice as the throbbing increased slightly.

"You won't think of me as a coward when I tell you it was me who set the heater to blow up-!"

"_THAT WAS YOU?"_

Outside in the garden, everybody listened intensely to the commotion inside. Alvin was making sure that both he and Ian could be heard clearly. Dave, Ross and Janice had exchanged worried looks when they heard the cry of pain. Dave was near breaking point, getting ready to burst through the front door, "What are they doing in there? This wasn't part of the plan!"

"I don't know, but they'd better come out soon." replied Ross, just as concerned as his friend, "Look I'm sure everything is okay. Alvin's too quick-witted for Ian. Too quick-witted for himself in fact."

"That's what I'm worried about." said Dave, feeling a bit shaky. There came another yell, this time from Ian. "That's it! I'm going in!"

"Don't even think about it Dave." warned Janice, pulling him back into a crouch next to her, "We can't risk ruining the plan! No buts about it!"

"But-!"

"I said 'no buts about it'!"

Back inside, Alvin was still in Ian's one handed grasp, the other hand was being sucked on. Ian had made a nasty comment (too rude for me to type). Alvin bit him multiple times on his fingers and palm with it being his last defence.

"Aww, poor Ian...Did the mean chipmunk bite you? Do you want me to call Mummy so she can come and kiss your boo-boo?" jeered Alvin tauntingly.

"Don't you dare talk about my mum like thaarrrrrgh!"

Alvin bit the other hand this time. He was dropped then chased as he ran in the direction of the front door, crashing into a few things on the way. Ian stumbled after him out the door, still groaning in agony, "AAAALLLLVVVVIIIINNNN!"

"CODE CUSTARD! CODE BALLOON! NOW!" cried the panicking chipmunk. Immediately, eight water balloons came flying from every direction. Everyone hitting the target spot on. Custard of all colours spluttered over Ian's already ruined clothes. Green, red, yellow, black, brown, blue, purple and moron.

"You imbeciles!" roared Ian, getting up and running away as fast as his stumpy legs could carry him, "I hate you all!" Balloons continued to pummel him as he ran around a corner and out of sight. Everybody burst into a fit of hysterical laughter.

"That—was –the –most—fun—I've had—in years!" cried Ross in between bouts of laughter. It became too much for him and he started rolling on the ground

"Did you see him run like a little girl?" laughed Eleanor.

"I know! I don't think I've never seen him look better!" panted Simon. Everybody laughed even harder at this.

"And a big Bravo to our resident actor!" cried Dave. Everybody gave a round of applause. "Alvin, I gotta say. That was something spectacular!...Alvin?"

Everybody turned around to see Alvin on the ground unconscious, a small pool of blood where the cut was. Ian had accidently knocked him out when he tripped while running. Simon and Theodore quickly ran to his aide while Dave ran to get the blanket again. Ross and Janice promised to watch the others.

It looked like another late-night rendezvous at the Vet Clinic...talk about your bad luck...


	9. True Colours

**True Colours**

After a few days of bed rest, I'm quite happy to say that Alvin was fine. He had been a bit groggy and received a pretty big headache from the blow, but that wasn't too much trouble since he slept for more than half the time. Ian wasn't so lucky; the Police had arrested him a few hours later. Everybody involved with both the nights events and the heater incident gave their testimonies. The trial date still had to be revealed.

In the meantime, one morning during breakfast when Claire came over to help Dave with something, there came shouts from the bedroom. Simon and Theodore had gone to wake Alvin up only a few minutes before. "What could those three be possibly fighting about now?" asked Dave, looking a bit disapproving about the boy's behaviour.

On the contrary, they were far from fighting. The shouting was out of pure joy. Everyone in the kitchen couldn't quite hear what they were going on about, but I think part of it went like this:

"This is brilliant!" came Simon's voice, "You must be really happy!"

"Happy? _Happy?" _bellowed Alvin in mock disgust. "Try happy, surprised, pompous, raucous and joyous all at once!"

The three of them came bounding into the kitchen, Alvin no longer needing assistance to find his way around the house. The boys were wearing the goofiest smiles ever, obviously a trait that ran in the family.

"What's goin' on Larry, Curly and Moe?" asked Claire grinning at the boy's funny expressions.

"Well, it's not absolutely certain. Not yet quite defined." began Alvin, "But…oh sweet mother of all that is good and pure…I'm not usually the religious type, but Hallelujah! My eyesight is coming back!

Brittany gasped and ran over to her boyfriend, pulling him into a hug, "That's fantastic! How is it coming back?"

Alvin chuckled and hugged her back, "Well, it's nothing too big, but I can see any bright colour that stands before me. I can see pink now so I know it's you. I'm just glad to see **(Please excuse that pun.)** that there is some improvement."

"Oh that's great!" said Eleanor, sounding relieved for some reason,"After being kept in the dark **(That one too.)**for so long, there's finally some light in the distance."

"Yeah, no more playing Blind Man's Bluff (**Ha, I couldn't resist that one!) **with doctors and guessing how things will turn out in the end," added Dave.

Dave was both surprised and joyful about the prospect of getting the old Alvin back. The one that couldn't tell who was at the door before answering it. The one who wouldn't burst into tears if he heard bad news. The one Dave didn't have to carry around on his shoulder everywhere they went. It was too good to be true.

_Too good to be true_ was exactly what Jeanette was thinking. She noticed that Alvin is a little bit too happy for his own good. Sure, he could now see colours, but that doesn't mean he was going back to having 20/20 vision. She didn't want to hurt his feelings, but she decided to take a shot in the dark **(That is the last pun I swear!) **and share her thoughts.

"Hey Al, could I talk to you for a second?" she asked. Without waiting for an answer, she pulled him away from his breakfast. She clutched onto his shoulder and led him into living room.

"What's that about?" questioned Claire. She looked over at Dave, but he merely shrugged.

"Something wrong Jean?" asked Alvin, looking at the purple and navy blue blob in front of him.

"Well…..um…It's just that I'm kind of concerned—"

"Bout what?"

"I'm just concerned that you may getting your hopes up too soon." She said slowly, "There may still be a lot of complications before you sight returns properly."

"Complications? Like what?"

"Uh….Like your eyes might end up with a relapse and go totally blind again, you could end up seeing in black or white—"

"That would be cool! It'd be like I'm constantly watching one of those old fashioned mov—"

"I can already see cataracts forming," Jeanette continued, ignoring Alvin's butt-in. "You may have to have an operation in a few weeks to get rid of them. You've still got a long way to go."

Alvin took a moment of silence to think all this through. She was right, a lot of things could happen within the next few weeks. If he got his hopes up too high now, he would be absolutely distraught if something went wrong. And, having to go in for an operation didn't seem to be a good thing, it made him shudder just thinking about it.

Jeanette was watching him anxiously. He looked over at her direction and gave a small smile. "I hope you understand I was just telling you this so you'd be better prepared. For the better or for worse. I mean, I understand how you feel—"

"No, I don't think you do." Alvin interrupted smartly. Jeanette looked at him in confusion, which made the smile wider, "You see, blindness isn't all it's cracked up to be. Well, neither is cracking up, but both happened from the second the heater blew up. While one world had closed, another completely new one opened up and I was amazed, stunned. I still am actually."

Everybody in the kitchen went silent and listened intently. "Yesterday, I spent the whole day in bed. For two hours of that day, I listened to the thunderstorm booming outside. It was the most incredible two hours I've ever spent in my life. Have you ever noticed, just how much the sound of rain sounds like bacon cooking in the frying pan? Or, how that thunder seems to echo forever? Or how funny it is to hear someone slip over in the mud? It just had to be Dave…."

"And when I play the guitar or piano, each note echoes like the thunder, but more in my mind. And as we start singing…..Oh …My…..God it is astoundingly brilliant. All of us have such different pitches, tones and strengths to each other. We all have different styles of music we can sing better to than others. The individuality of it all is what makes us so special…..and when we start to sing, our voices mix together into one great voice of reason. We really should start taking advantage of that. For good of course."

"Now, at the end of the day, I still hope for all hell I'll get my eyesight back…But if I don't, I won't be too disappointed. I'm not afraid to say that I'll miss being able to freak people out….It's ironic how a disability can give you a new and even better ability…There's almost a….an advantage in this you know?"

"No, I don't know," answered Jeanette breathlessly. She had concentrated on his words so much that she seemed to have forgotten how to breathe. "Alvin I'm sorry. I guess I really didn't have a clue after all…."

"That's alright. We all make mistakes. So…..Can I go back to eating breakfast now?"

"Of course." Jeanette led Alvin back to the kitchen where he hungrily continued eating his toaster waffle.

"Hey Dave, what's the surprise you have for us?" asked Theodore eagerly.

"If I tell you, it won't be a surprise will it?"

"What is it? I wanna know!"

"I'll tell you tomorrow…." said Dave suspiciously, giving Claire a grin, "And you'll see Theo….You'll see….."

_**Personally, I don't think they'll wanna know….**_


	10. A Crazy Thing Called Love

**A Crazy Thing Called Love**

**Alvin's POV.**

It was a perfect day for a picnic at the park. The sky was cloudless and the sun was making its first debut since the start of summer. Dave decided that everybody needed a day out in the sun. There was a soft breeze blowing through the branches of the trees and grass around them, the grass tickling everybody's bare feet.

Dave and Claire had taken a walk around the park and weren't expected to return for a while. Simon and Jeanette were reading some random book to each other about the Civil War. It was a romance novel, so obviously they found it appropriate to act out each scene to each other. Eleanor and Theodore were eating, of course, biting into the same croissant at each end and meeting in the middle to kiss. Of course Brittany had to tell me this, I'm just glad I couldn't see it.

Britt and I were just lazing around, lying on the grass. We had each other in an embrace, our legs tangled up and lightly discussing the surprise that Dave had revealed to us. It turns out that as soon as my eyes had healed as far as they could, we were going to move to Australia for nearly over a year, just to expand our fan base. I was really looking forward to it; I'd always wanted to perform there. The others weren't too sure about it though. It's their own fault for watching too much _Mad Max_ and _Wolfe Creek_. I'm more of a _Crocodile Dundee_ type, myself.

"Come on Britt! You can't honestly believe that the movie was real! Mel Gibson isn't gonna run you over the moment you step off the plane!" I said in protest, at the same time stroking her hair gently.

"Yeah I know," Brittany sighed, shifting in the grass slightly, "Still, it's going to be scary moving to a country that I know basically nothing about—except the fact that everything there wants to kill me-"

"They do not! The media likes to stereotype Australia as the land of jokesters, killers and drunken bums who all wear slouch hats and live in the middle of nowhere. According to the media, all Aussies have a Kangaroo or Koala as a pet. I don't buy that, never have, and never will." I explained, getting a bit irritated for some unknown reason.

"You're really open minded about this aren't you?" asked Brittany, propping herself onto one elbow and looking down at me with interest.

"Of course I am. I finally have the chance to perform at the Sydney Opera House. It's been somewhat of a dream of mine for years and I refuse to pass that up!" I replied, a little bit too gruffly than needed.

Brittany seemed to be a bit taken a back as she said, "Why didn't you tell me this ages ago?"

"Because, the opportunity never came up, that's all." Conversation ended. I pulled Brittany back into our embrace and she relaxed in my arms. Both of us became lost in thought as we gazed up into the sky. It was the first time I had seen it in a while. It was a beautiful turquoise blue, nearly the same colour as Britt's eyes.

My thoughts were distracted when a piece of pollen or something went up my nose. Annoyingly, I started to sniff and after taking in a deep inhale, I sneezed, "Aaa...aaa...Achooo!" All over Britt and the grass around us. I expected her to pull away from me in disgust, but instead she just started laughing. I went red in the face, but not for long as she sneezed too.

Both of us laughed for a while, it felt really good. As the laughing died down, I gently pressed my nose against hers; she tilted her head sideways as I felt her lips press against mine. This time, there was no tongue involved; it just didn't seem ethical in this sort of environment. As always, it put me into sweet bliss until...Oh crap...Aaa...aaa...Achooo!

Brittany pulled back and restarted laughing her head off. I soon joined in, going red in the face again. We resumed kissing, still giggling like two little kids who had just pulled a prank on their grandma. That's when I realised: Love isn't grand, it's retarded... and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Eventually, we went home for dinner. Brittany reported to me that Claire was trying to hide a large hickey with a scarf and Dave had a cut lip. It really had been romance all around. It was kind of a surprise that they had finally gotten back together. I guess Dave was a lot more mature than the last time they were in a relationship. I just hope it goes well.

I sat down in front of the piano later that night. That whole day had inspired me to start early on a present for Brittany. By Valentine's Day, we'd be in Australia and if I remembered correctly, that was the day we would be performing at the Sydney Opera House. The present was pretty straight forward: write a song dedicated to her, sing it at the Opera House and if they were in _that place, _propose in front of everybody. What could be better than that?

This is what I came up with. I called it 'The Way You Make Me Feel."

_**Verse One **_

**I'm singing next to you today,**

**Both our hearts beating as one.**

**I jump every time we hold hands,**

**All you want to do is have some fun.**

**I used to be in great denial,**

**Doubting the feelings I had for you.**

**You had me twistin' myself in knots,**

**I just didn't know what to do. **

_**Chorus**_

**You just didn't know,**

**(Didn't know.)**

**Just how I felt.**

**And I thought that,**

**(Thought that.)**

**My heart would melt.**

**I just thought that,**

**(Thought that.)**

**You didn't wanna know. **

**But now I know the truth,**

**Let's see how far we can go.**

_**Verse Two**_

**Ever since you have been mine,**

**I've become a better man.**

**I used to be so full of myself,**

**Now I help any way I can.**

**We've been through a lot together,**

**Through the times of good and bad.**

**As long as we both stick together,**

**We'll stay happy and never be sad.**

_**Chorus**_

**You just didn't know,**

**(Didn't know.)**

**Just how I felt.**

**And I thought that,**

**(Thought that.)**

**My heart would melt.**

**I just thought that,**

**(Thought that.)**

**You didn't wanna know. **

**But now I know the truth,**

**Let's see how far we can go.**

But that is as far as I got. Dave had decided it was getting late and forced me to bed, ignoring my protests. Ah well, I still had a few months to get it finished anyway. Brittany helped me onto my bunk and I kissed her goodnight, this time with tongue. She leaped over to her own and I fell asleep smiling, her strawberry lips could still be tasted...

The next morning, I fell out of bed, giving a shout of surprise. For the first time in ages, I heard that familiar shout, "AAALLLVVVIIINNN!" _Uh oh...What did I do now?_ "Get in the bathroom NOW!" I bounded out of the bedroom and hit head my head on the door on the way. When I reached the bathroom, Dave picked me up to stop me from running into anything else that I couldn't see.

"Hey Dave," I greeted mischievously, "What's wrong? Do I need to remind you how to use the potty again?"

"Was it you who put Saran Wrap over the toilet seat? Do you think it's funny?" asked Dave in a rage.

I started laughing hard as I answered, "Ha ha! Hell no! How could you even think that? You know I only pull original pranks! I have better taste than the person that pulled this classic!" Dave dropped me onto the ground, "How bad did it get you?"

"Well...I'm barefoot for one thing—STOP LAUGHING!" Dave roared. I started rolling on the ground and banged my fists on the tiles, laughing so hard I was crying. Tears were falling down my face.

I wasn't the only one. A faint pink and blue blob entered the bathroom, it was Claire. She was laughing harder than I was. Dave must've seen something on her face because the next thing he said was, "That was you?"

"Yes! Who else would it be? I haven't pulled that on you since college! Wait until Chris hears about this!" she cried, laughing her head off. Something tells me it was going to be a long day...


	11. Challenge The Ordinary

**Challenge the Ordinary**

That one practical joke pulled by Claire started the prank equivalent of World War Three. For the rest of the week, nobody knew who they could trust, there were pranks front and centre. It was friend against friend, boyfriend against girlfriend, brother against brother, sister against sister and father against son. In other words, we were in the immature Hell on Earth…..and loving it.

Unfortunately, I was out of the race before it had even begun. You have no idea how long I had been waiting for something like this to happen, it was a dream come true. If it weren't for my stupid eyesight (which by the way was starting to grow a bit foggy, it looked like I would have the operation), I would have won the war within the first afternoon.

So I needed some assistance from somebody it would be easy to call a truce with. Someone with certain_ finesse_ and a grip on reality while at the same time, still pretty immature. Someone very smart…Someone… like…_Simon._ This was going to be a long shot, but it never hurts to try.

I ran through the battle ground over to Simon's fortress of books in the music room. It wasn't as good as Theodore's muffin fortress, but at least you can't eat straight through a book cover. "Psst! Si! Simon! Let me in, I'm not loaded I swear!" I felt a pair of paws grab me on the shoulders and drag me into darkness.

"You better be telling the truth," hissed Simon, closing the hole in the fort so it went pitch black. "Do I have to frisk you to be sure?"

"Uh…I think I'll pass on that if you don't mind." I replied, feeling just that little bit creeped out. "Besides, I haven't pulled any pranks all week. I'm here to call a truce and to present a proposition."

"Alright then, truce." said Simon, shaking my paw, still being a bit cautious, "What kind of proposition?"

"I call it 'Operation Challenge the Ordinary'" I explained," With my keen wit, your great intelligence and if we add the magnificent 'Bagdasarian Strategy', we'll have ourselves the greatest prank ever pulled in Seville history!"

"You know what….I never thought I'd live to see the day when I say this.., but….okay let's do this!"

Two hours, 100 water balloons filled with custard and dye in buckets all over the house, two cunning chipmunks and one excited Ross Bagdasarian Jr later, it was prank time. Simon had set up a series of leads and triggers that would set off all of the buckets at different times. He took one third of the house while Ross and I took the other. Pretty soon everyone else came home.

"…Look, Brittany. The Saran Wrap on the toilet seat was funny at first, but now it's just disgusting." complained Jeanette to her big sister. One by one everyone filed into the living room, oblivious to the fact that there were buckets hanging over doors. Simon pulled the first trigger and the first bucket tipped over them, right in the middle of the living room.

Everybody screamed and ran for different doors. Big mistake! Now covered in gucky custard in all different colours, Theodore ran into the bedroom. I heard him come in and pulled the trigger as I hid in the cupboard. "Aaaargh!" I heard him scream. I started having a silent fit of laughter. "Who did that? That was totally uncalled for!"

Three high pitch screams sounded from the laundry. It seemed that Ross had claimed the Chipettes as his first victims. I could hear Dave yelling over the continuous shouting, "Whoever is doing this, THIS IS NOT FUNNY!" I just laughed harder. "CLAIRE? IF THAT IS YOU, KNOCK IT OFF! PLEASE!"

"Sorry Dave, fat chance!" I said to myself as I pulled another trigger. The bucket placed over the front door tipped over Claire as she came to see what all the fuss was about. She screamed and started running everywhere too. It was a state of utter chaos. Eventually, all the balloons had fallen and the air raid was over. All the victims met in the living room, all of them still in shock and covered in all the colours of the rainbow.

"Wow! I don't think I've seen any of you look this good!" I exclaimed, walking into the room with the biggest grin on my face. "What do you think Si?"

"I agree, all the colours do make a good effect to the eye," said Simon walking out from his hiding spot gleefully.

"I'll second both of those comments!" announced Ross, bounding out of the bathroom, wanting to reveal himself as one of the scoundrels.

The three of us waited for an uproar…., but nothing happened. Everyone just stood there, messy and kind of revolting. Ross knew what was coming though and picked Simon and I up and ran for the door. Just in time too, because at that moment, Dave came running at us in rage. Ross dumped us into the backseat of his car and drove as fast as he could away from the house.

"Phew! That was a close call!" remarked Simon. We all restarted laughing and didn't stop until we had reached Ross' house. Something told me we weren't going to be welcomed back for a few days…..


	12. Post Prank

**Post Prank**

That prank had caused us the penalty of spending half a week at Ross' and Janice's place. After a nights sleep, Brittany had called to say that even though it was really cruel, it had to be the most ingenious prank ever pulled. I was grateful that she had such a great sense of humour and could laugh at herself. "I burst into laughter when I looked at myself in the mirror. Bravo boys, bravo!"

Jeanette wasn't as forgiving to Simon, but we both knew she would find it funny in the end; we just had to give her time. Theodore and Eleanor, were the two people we had to suck up to, but not as much as we had to suck up to Dave. As far as he was concerned at the moment, we were nothing but a pile of mud.

"He'll get over it in time." reassured Ross at the breakfast table, "You both will just have to do anything he asks you to do. He called me a few minutes ago: all three of us have to go back and do chores all day. Ah well, I guess that's the price of having fun..."

Later that day, I was going to an appointment with Dr. Chris. Any work I had to do, I had to do quickly. While I was working in the garden, spreading new mulch around and at the same time trying not to get stung by bees, Ross and Simon were washing Dave's car and singing:

_Simon_

**You might not ever get rich, ha (come on!),  
Let me tell you it's better than digging a ditch. (uh!)  
There ain't no telling who you might meet,  
A movie star or maybe a common thief. (yeah!)**

_Both_**  
**

**Working at the car wash, oh, oh, yeah, yeah!  
At the car wash, yeah, ooh, yeah, yeah!  
At the car wash, sing it with me now!  
Working at the car wash yeah, whoo, ooh!**

_Ross_**  
**

**Come summer the work gets kind of hard, (come on!)  
This ain't no place to be if you're planning on being a star. (Uh, being a star!)  
Let me tell you it's always cool, (Cool!)  
And the boss don't mind sometimes if you're acting like a fool.  
**

_Both_

**Working at the car wash, oh, oh, yeah, yeah.  
At the car wash, yeah, ooh, ooh, ooh!  
At the car wash, ow, said, now come on and work it with me now!  
Working at the car wash yeah, said, said, said, sing!  
Said, said, said, sing!**

"Will you two knock it off?" I yelled, feeling a bit agitated as I wiped dirt off my face. "There are some people trying to moan over here!" I had had enough and threw my gloves on the ground in protest.

"Sorry! At least_ we_ are trying to make the most of it!" grunted Ross, wiping sweat off his face and replacing it with soap. He checked his watch, "Ah great! Two more hours than I can go home!"

That two hours didn't go quickly much to our dismay. It was a tired, sweaty and cranky Ross that went home and two muddy chipmunks who had to take a shower. I was already tired, but still, Dave dragged me to the Vets for a check up.

Chris was happy to hear that I had improved significantly since the last time, but was concerned about the cataracts forming over my eyes. They had gotten so thick, all I could see was blurry colours that looked a bit like clouds. Some thing was definitely wrong with that.

"The sooner we operate, the better things will go." insisted Chris, "I don't enough about eyes to operate myself, it will be the specialist Dr. Chelsea Brown. She specialises in small animals, so you know you can trust her."

"Well, when would be a good time to operate?" asked Dave.

"Well..._now_ actually..." Chris replied slowly.

I gulped. _Right now? Are you serious? But I haven't even prepared...I...I haven't even considered..._

"It's up to you Alvin." said Chris. "Nothing too serious could go wrong, it operation is only routine." Dave seemed to have forgotten about the prank because he started rubbing behind my ear reassuringly.

I took a deep breath and without thinking said, "Well...okay...I guess..." _Why did you say that you idiot? You know what? Sometimes I can't even trust you...I can't trust myself...that's sad isn't it?_

"Good choice." praised Chris, getting out off his seat. "Come on then, let's get you ready." He picked me up and placed me on his shoulder. Dave stood up and walked over to Chris.

"Good luck," he said. He gave me the high five as we all walked out the door into the hall. Dave followed us until we reached a set of doors and I disappeared from sight behind them...

**No Need to Fear the Worst.**

**Dave's POV**

Feeling a bit nervous and edgy, Chris insisted that I went home while the operation took place. I was more than willing to hesitate than anything else, but still, I drove home as requested. I kept telling myself that there was nothing to worry about, it was only routine and he even had a specialist working on him. My instincts were trying to tell me otherwise, but I kept my mind on the road. A car crash is the last thing I needed right now.

As expected, the minute I opened the door to the house, I heard the question, "Where's Alvin, Dave?" from none other than Theodore. Usually I would break it to him gently, but he's old enough now to take it like an adult. The others turned around in interest (Jeanette still not talking to Simon) as I told him straight off.

"They've taken him in for an operation."

"An opera-?"

"Yeah, Chris said it's only routine, so there is nothing to worry about." I told him frankly. I knew that if I kept a straight face and seemed relaxed, Theodore wouldn't panic. This remained true as Theodore's shocked face eased slightly.

It turned to a more concerned state as he asked, "How long is it going to take?"

I fazed out for a second while I tried to remember the answer, "Well…Chris actually never said how long it could take…I guess he'll call when it's over." Theodore instinctively looked over at Simon for an answer, but for once Simon just shrugged.

"Don't look at me, I wouldn't have a clue!"

The late afternoon was slowly turning into night when Claire knocked on the door. The chipmunks were all in their bedroom playing Snap, so they didn't see her pull me into a hug when I answered, "Well, I see you've finally got all of the custard out of your hair." Claire grimaced at that comment, the attack still fresh on her mind.

"Yes. Remind me to beat Bagdasarian into a pulp the next time I see him." She snarled. I grinned sheepishly and nodded. _I know exactly how you feel about that….._We both pulled out of the embrace. "So what's going on? Are the two jokers back in the house again?"

"Yeah, they came home this morning." I explained, "Simon's in the bedroom at the moment with the others, Alvin won't be coming home for at least a week. He's being operated on at the moment by some specialist called…..um….. Dr. Chelsea Brown, I think her name wa-."

"Oh, I've heard of her," interrupted Claire looking relieved, "She did some work on my Aunt Marni's Jack Russel. He was running around and causing havoc again within two weeks. Alvin's going to be fine."

By now, both of us had taken a seat at the kitchen table. Jeanette, who had taken quite a shine to Claire, came in and joined us. Simon followed her, obviously still trying to get into her good books. Half an hour later, everyone came together for dinner. I was beginning to get a bit anxious…there hadn't been a word from the hospital….It had been four hours..

Two seconds later…_brr…brrr…..brrr…..brrr. _ The phone rang.

I raced over to the phone and answered spaghetti sauce all over my mouth, "Hello?"

"Hey Dave, guess who?" asked a man in a sing-song voice.

"Ah, Chris! It's about time!" I replied.

"You were getting anxious I guess?"

"Well, wouldn't I be?" I asked gruffly.

"Alright! Don't get snotty with me! I just wanted to tell you that the operation went as planned. There are no longer cataracts around his eyes, but there will be a few side affects." Chris explained happily.

"Side affects?"

"Yeah, but we'll worry about them later. Gotta go Dave!"

"But what about the side-!"

"See you tomorrow!"

He hung up. I slammed down the phone in annoyance and turned around to see everyone staring at me. "Well?" asked Simon.

I sighed, "Like I said before, everything is all right."

**Authors Note: This part is in Alvin's point of view.**

Exactly a week later, everybody crowded around the table. Dave, Claire, Ross, Janice, Toby, Simon, Theodore, Brittany, Jeanette and Eleanor all watched as Chris unravelled the bandage around my eyes.

"It's the same instructions as last time." began Chris, "Cover your eyes…." I did as I was told. The bandage was now fully off. "Now…..slowly open them."

Very carefully, I opened them, pulling my paw away as I did. Once fully open, I stared at my paw and adjusted my eyes from the light. Everything eventually came into focus. Everybody was waiting silently, just waiting for an answer. I looked up at them then looked back at my paw again to count my fingers.

"Five right?" I asked. Everybody nodded vigorously. "Huh….I guess they _do_ work then….who'd have thought?" I gave a grin. Everybody laughed in relief and cheered. "Hey! Simon! Theo! Britt! Jean! Ellie! Dave! Everybody! Chris, my man! Good to finally see you! Ross! Janice! Toby! I didn't know you came!" 

Simon and Theodore gave me a big pat on the back; Brittany pulled me in a hug and kissed me right on the mouth, causing wolf whistles to sound out through the room. I couldn't believe my luck. This was the best moment of my life and everybody I cared about was here to share it with me! But then again, something seemed wrong…

I must've had a confused look on my face because everyone stopped celebrating. "What's wrong?" asked Brittany.

"The…the colours I could see before the operation…they're gone….all of them are….just gone…they've just….disappeared." I said slowly, "I….I can only see in black and white…it's going to be like-"

"Constantly watching one of those old fashioned movies." finished Jeanette, remembering the conversation we had a few weeks back. I nodded, keeping a look of being fazed out on the face.

"Yeah…That's exactly what it's going to be like…..And you know what? I think I'll like it better this way…"

**Authors Note: Well…It's not what you'd be expecting, but at least he can see again…**


	13. A New Life, A New Home

**A New Life, A New Home**

So here I am, almost a year later, on the balcony of our new Australian home. We live on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. The weather here is beautiful everyday so we boys have abandoned our sweaters as day clothes and now wears bowling shirts or something else light (Not going against our trademark colours of course.

Everyday is like living in paradise and the night life here is incredible. We've visited and performed in many other places around the country. Everyone _loves _us to death. But nothing yet has compared to that concert we did in the first few weeks in Sydney at the Opera House. It was exactly how I expected it to be: like a dream come true.

It was a full house that night, with all the romantics bringing their girlfriends to the performance for Valentines Day. We honoured the occasion by performing only love songs and all of them were the originals by either Dave or I. We started with the classic 'Witch Doctor' and went through other hits like 'Who's Laughing Now?'. Even though it wasn't loved based, I had the honour of performing 'The Alvin Twist' and it became the crowd favourite. It looked like I wasn't the only one who fell into the trance that night…..

I had finally finished putting together 'The Way You Make Me Feel' and was ready to debut the song. It was the big finale, I mean…the _really_ big finale….

_**Verse One **_

**I'm singing next to you today,**

**Both our hearts beating as one.**

**I jump every time we hold hands,**

**All you want to do is have some fun.**

**I used to be in great denial,**

**Doubting the feelings I had for you.**

**You had me twistin' myself in knots,**

**I just didn't know what to do. **

_**Chorus**_

**You just didn't know,**

**(Didn't know.)**

**Just how I felt.**

**And I thought that,**

**(Thought that.)**

**My heart would melt.**

**I just thought that,**

**(Thought that.)**

**You didn't wanna know. **

**But now I know the truth,**

**Let's see how far we can go.**

_**Verse Two**_

**Ever since you have been mine,**

**I've become a better man.**

**I used to be so full of myself,**

**Now I help any way I can.**

**We've been through a lot together,**

**Through the times of good and bad.**

**As long as we both stick together,**

**We'll stay feelin' happy, never sad.**

_**Chorus**_

**You just didn't know,**

**(Didn't know.)**

**Just how I felt.**

**And I thought that,**

**(Thought that.)**

**My heart would melt.**

**I just thought that,**

**(Thought that.)**

**You didn't wanna know. **

**But now I know the truth,**

**Let's see how far we can go.**

_**Verse 3**_

**You're the only girl who,**

**Can make me laugh til I cry.**

**And I love you even more,**

**As each day goes on by.**

**There are no words to describe,**

**Just how happy I feel.**

**Because everything seems just,**

**Too good to be real.**

_**Coda**_

**Baby, hold on to me tight,**

**Just don't let go.**

**What could happen if you do?**

**I don't wanna know.**

**Even when I'm gone,**

**You're never far from my mind.**

**You know me to well to know,**

**I would never leave you behind.**

_**Last Verse**_

**If I've had a long hard day,**

**At least I can come home to you.**

**I can always rely on you to save me,**

**You always know what to do.**

**I know the taste of your lips,**

**And know that I want more.**

**There ain't any way I'm going,**

**Back to where I was before.**

_**Chorus (x2)**_

**You just didn't know,**

**(Didn't know.)**

**Just how I felt.**

**And I thought that,**

**(Thought that.)**

**My heart would melt.**

**I just thought that,**

**(Thought that.)**

**You didn't wanna know. **

**But now I know the truth,**

**Let's see how far we can go.**

The song ended to enormous applause from the audience, all the Aussies screaming for more. All of us huddled into a big group hug, patting each others backs and planting kisses on each others cheeks, just laughing for joy. Nothing else mattered any more with the past far behind me now. Now it was time to look forward to the future and I knew exactly how to start it…..

After we had packed up and went to the hotel to stay the night, I pulled Brittany out onto the small balcony, the Sydney Harbour Bridge in full view. She was a bit confused about why I was so quiet. I had never been so nervous in my life before now. I took her paws in mine and looked right in her eyes. She looked so gorgeous in the last light the sunset was giving off.

"Listen, Britt." I began, trying not to lose my nerve, "Listen…you know I love you, right?" She nodded, still looking confused. "These last 7 months have been so life changing for me, I've learnt so much stuff about myself…and life itself…that I never knew beforehand. But I don't think I could've gone through it all if I hadn't had you by my side…..and that makes me love you even more…." She smiled and my stomach did a back flip.

"Even though I've become a better person…..for some reason I'm still so scared of commitment. It chills me to the bone. But you know what? So did the thought of staying blind for the rest of my life. I managed to take _that_ head on, so how hard can commitment be?"

"Very hard." answered Brittany.

"Then how come you make it seem so easy?" I asked, butterflies filling my stomach._ Enough talking, just get to the point you idiot! _"Anyway, I realised that the only person I want to do this with, is the beautiful, gracious, talented, smart woman in front of me…so…"

Brittany gasped as I bent down on one knee and took out the diamond ring….I know what your thinking, I was too. _Oh….My…..God…No way!_

"Brittany…" I began. Brittany giggled nervously. "Will you marry me?"

Before I knew it, I had been roughly pushed up against the nearest door and was being kissed so intensely, I thought all the wind had been knocked out of my lungs. The ring flew out of my paws and out of my sight. Brittany didn't let up for ten minutes. I didn't know whether to be excited or freaked out, but man oh man was it good.

"So…..I take it you say yes?" I asked, mostly gasping for air. Brittany eventually calmed down a notch and nodded, too lost for words. I became so full of joy, that I lifted her off her feet and swung her around in circles several times with her giggling louder than ever. I laughed as I found the ring near the pot plant and slid it on to her finger.

"This is the best day of my life!" Brittany squealed. In each others arms once more, I pulled her into another kiss, this time with a touch of class as fire works started blowing off the Harbour Bridge in honour of Valentines Day.

**The End Result:**

So the story ends here. In the best country on earth (No offence America!), with the best family in the world, a great career and top it all off, the girl of my dreams, now my wife. My life is now complete. We love it here so much; there doesn't seem much sense to move back to America where Ian Hawke could cause us more trouble. I'll never forgive him for what he did to me.

Chris Hill decided to move back here to work as a Vet at the Australian Zoo. His parents were very happy to see him again and he has met a nice girl. Ross and Janice along with all our friends back in America get free flights into the country when ever they feel like it. Grandma and Grandpa bought a house not far away from here and have retired from their jobs.

I'm proud to announce that Simon and Jeanette, along with Theodore and Eleanor are engaged to be married in a few months. They decided that it would be fun to have it on the same day, don't ask me why. Dave and Claire are currently working on their relationship and its going great…at least so far.

Brittany and I are preparing for the next step in our relationship, we have at least three months to go, but I think we're pretty much ready. Bracing myself about bad news about my eyesight had pretty much prepared me for anything. I mean, come on…..How hard can it be to raise triplets?


End file.
